Graphics

The capacity crowd assembled at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on the evening of May 29, 1913, was expecting something big. They had every reason to: The Ballets Russes was launching its latest creation.

The newest theater in Paris had hosted its first concert only eight weeks before, but it had already established a reputation for fashion and daring.

Its gutsy founder, journalist and impresario Gabriel Astruc, had scored a coup when he landed the 1913 season of the Ballets Russes, which had wowed Parisians since 1908 with increasingly ambitious and scintillating works that combined Europe's most imaginative young dancers, composers, choreographers and artists. Under the direction of flamboyant Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev, it was arguably the most influential performing-arts ensemble in the world.

That's why, despite the double-price tickets for the evening's performance, bohemian rabble rousers mingled with the tuxedo-clad swells in the audience.

The lights dimmed. Conductor Pierre Monteux raised his baton. And everyone heard an otherworldly melody, played by a solo bassoon at the very top of its range. It signaled the start of the strangest ballet anyone had ever seen.

Things got stranger when the dancers appeared. No tutus or pointe shoes for this ensemble: they were dressed in primitive, baggy, vaguely Slavic costumes. And the choreography – flat and turned-in feet, repetitive stomping, endless circles – seemed to mock the very foundations of ballet.

The uproar commenced immediately. Some claimed trouble began when the two factions in the audience tussled with each other. Others said everyone was united in their hatred of what they saw. Shouts, hisses and whistles threatened to drown out the orchestra, though the show went on. Patrons hurled insults and scuffles broke out. The police were called. And Western culture was never the same.

The brouhaha even made headlines across the Atlantic. "Parisians Hiss New Ballet," screamed the headline in the New York Times.

In many ways, it has never stopped. "The Rite of Spring," one century after its premiere, is universally acknowledged as a tipping point when the old, for better or worse, gave way to the new. In Southern California and many other parts of the world, celebrations throughout 2013 commemorate and analyze a ballet that, even after 100 years, retains the stark and visceral modernism that it engendered.

John Mauceri presents "Music in the Life of a Great City, Rite of Spring at 100." 8 p.m. June 1. $25-$70. Valley Performing Arts Center, Cal State Northridge. 818-677-3000 or valleyperformingartscenter.org.

The Pacific Symphony winds up its season with "Rite of Spring Turns 100." 8 p.m. June 6-8. $25-$185. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. 714-755-5799 or pacificsymphony.org.

Related Links

The ballet "The Rite of Spring" echoes through the ages. ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Backstage photo of dancers in costumes, 1913. This image was from Diaghilev's original "Rite of Spring" production at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris. PHOTO BY GERSCHEL, COURTESY OF NICHOLAS ROERICH MUSEUM, NEW YORK
Vaslav Nijinsjky, a celebrated dancer, choreographed "Le Sacre du Printemps" (called "The Rite of Spring" in English). His career spiralled downhill after its 1913 premiere and he spent much of his later life in asylums. Seen here, Nijinsky dances his shocking role in "Afternoon of the Faun" in 1912. ASSOCIATED PRESS
A 2009 Joffrey Ballet performance of "Le Le Sacre du Printemps." Pictured from left are Jennifer Goodman, Erica Lynette Edwards, Stacy Joy Keller. HERBERT MIGDOLL
Beatriz Rodriquez played The Chosen One in the 1987 premiere of "Le Sacre du Printemps." HERBERT MIGDOLL
The Joffrey Ballet performing "Le Sacre du Printemps" in 2009. Piecing it together was "a great and complicated detective story," according to Millicent Hodson, a choreographer and artist, who with historian and scenic consultant Kenneth Archer painstakingly reconstructed one of the ballet world's most celebrated lost works. HERBERT MIGDOLL[
Erica Lynette Edwards in a 2009 Joffrey Ballet performance of "Le Sacre du Printemps." HERBERT MIGDOLL
"Le Sacre du Printemps" caused a riot when the bold ballet premiered in 1913. That event is remembered as the beginning of a new and more complicated relationship between the performing arts and the public. Pictured is a scene from the Joffrey Ballet's 1987 reconstruction of the work. HERBERT MIGDOLL

1 of

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.